


Rocky Start

by djlee6



Series: Derek and Lawfiet - Growing [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: BL, M/M, MalexMale, OC, RatedMtobeSafe, Yaoi, boylove, repost, slowbuild, taefansick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 06:53:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10531200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/djlee6/pseuds/djlee6
Summary: How things (sort of) began between Derek and Lawfiet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yes this is an original work using original characters. If you want to see pictures or see more about these characters, please feel free to message me or visit my Deviantart page Fansick-Originals.

“Skittish Fish!”   
It was enough to jolt Derek from his thoughts as he slipped from his perch on the countertop and nearly toppled to the floor below. His eyes clenched shut as he braced for the impact but rather than cold and unforgiving floor, he felt the warmth of another body. His blue eyes hesitantly opened and he was met with a dark brown gaze, darkened skin, long dark hair and the most enchanting smile Derek had ever seen. His cheeks heated up with embarrassment as he realized that it was this young man’s warmth he was feeling.   
“Careful. I’d feel awful if you got hurt because of me,”  
Derek blushed darker. Even that voice was so alluring. Deep with a hint of playfulness and this undertone of authority. He averted his gaze and pressed against the other’s chest enough to signal to put him down. When Derek was on his own feet again, he straightened his uniform. “Thank you,” he spoke up, his voice soft and unsure.   
The other smiled again. “It’s nice to finally meet you face to face like this. Lawfiet Reed,” he extended a hand out in greeting.  
Derek returned the gesture, trying to ignore the jolt of excitement that ran up his spine. “Derek LaRoux,” he replied, a shy smile gracing his own lips. “Are you one of our new recruits?”  
Lawfiet hummed. “Something like that. I know they’ve been working me like crazy with all this training, but they won’t tell me what it’s for yet. What about you? A veteran?”  
Derek gave a soft laugh. “Research. I’m the head of our division,”  
“Impressive,” Lawfiet leaned against the counter casually, his arms now crossed over his chest. “You seem kind of young for that, though. You must be really smart,”  
“I’m afraid I’m quite average. I’m just older than I look,”  
“How much older?”  
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Derek replied, shutting the cabinet doors that he’d been riffling through. He could come back later. It was too embarrassing to climb back up there and risk falling again in front of the handsome boy. No….Man. That’s definitely the body of a man...He became flustered at his own thoughts and fiddled with the loose strands of his long hair. “What….was it that you said before…?”   
“Skittish Fish.” Lawfiet’s tone was so matter-of-fact, as if it was a normal statement to make.  
Derek’s brows furrowed. “I’m sorry?”  
“I didn’t catch your name before, so that was the one I gave you. Skittish Fish,”  
“We’ve met before?”  
“Not exactly ‘met’. I would call it more a crossing of paths,”   
Before Derek could ask further, General Kaufman strode in. “Ah, there you are. I was thinking maybe you got bored of the tour,”  
Lawfiet turned to address the older and stout man, standing to attention as Derek did the same. “Sorry, sir. I saw Derek here in need of some assistance and stepped in,”  
Derek felt his face heat up more at being so clumsy. He had done work on his own so long without trouble. At least, none that called attention to himself. He fiddled with his hair hanging loosely beside his face. He wondered if perhaps Lawfiet was only kind to him because of how much he resembled a woman. His curves and long hair often caused people to double-take as they tried to figure out which sex he was. He sighed silently and chanced a sideways glance to the handsome young man beside him as Lawfiet and Kaufman discussed something he wasn’t paying any mind to.   
Derek bit at his lower lip as he admired the silken appearance of Lawfiet’s dark locks and the way the beaded collar hugged his neck, leading to his strong jawline. Derek averted his eyes as he felt overtaken with the urge to suddenly bite and kiss along that jaw. He wanted to bury his face in Lawfiet’s neck and have his ears caressed by that soothing voice.   
What’s wrong with me? I can’t possibly be entertaining such thoughts in the workplace. Let alone about a trainee!   
He excused himself and slipped from the room quietly while Kaufman spoke. He missed with way Lawfiet’s eyes followed him and the way the Native male smiled softly. 

\----

Lawfiet hummed pleasantly as he fell back against his bed. It was strange to be so far from home on a spur of the moment decision, but seeing the Skittish Fish had made it all worth it.   
Derek, he corrected himself.   
He smiled as he thought of how beautifully the other’s cheeks had flushed. Lawfiet shivered a little as he remembered the feel of Derek’s weight in his arms. It was just as he had imagined it would be, ever since he first heard that sweet and musical voice.   
Lawfiet made a note to find Derek tomorrow as soon as he was able. The petite male had said he worked research, so that will make Lawifet’s search much easier.   
Good thing I got promoted as quick as I did! He hadn’t been surprised. He had moved up quickly when he was on the force. It was all just a matter of giving more than just the bare minimum and being willing to put the work in. He had the distant thought that maybe such initiative would be something he could use to impress Derek, but huffed.   
Someone that beautiful...He has to already be taken.   
The Native willed himself to still so sleep could take over, his thoughts drifting to soft curves and blue eyes. 

\--------------------------

The next morning, Lawfiet had gotten up earlier than needed and checked himself in the mirror for what must have been the millionth time that morning. He had showered the night before and combed his hair until he was sure it would look presentable for today. He smooth the long dark chestnut locks again, wanting to look his best. He tried calming his erratic behavior by reassuring himself that he looked horrible when he saw Derek the day before and the smaller male was still interested in him, but that didn’t help. Lawfiet was dedicated: he needed to make a great impression on Derek! He had to! 

Lawfiet breathed deeply through his nose as he finally left his room, checking the time. Seven-thirty…. That was a decent hour. Being in research, Derek had most likely been up for some time. 

Luckily, the base was well organized. It hadn’t been hard to find out where the research labs were located and it was even easier to find out which was Derek’s space. Lawfiet couldn’t help the smile on his face as he strode through the empty halls, the only sound being the light thudding of his issued boots on the tile floor. 

Skittish Fish… Derek…. He reached a hand up and touched his beaded collar. Rather than wearing the light colored collar that resembled the bark of a birch tree, he had gone with the pure white he normally reserved for special occasions. In truth, he had last worn it when his sister Kimi graduated from high school and hadn’t planned to wear it again until his brother Ayo’s wedding the following Spring. 

But this was just as equally a special day. Lawfiet wanted more than anything to portray how clear and honest his intentions were and hoped that the pure color would help. It contrasted so nicely against his skin, he had always received compliments before. And judging by Derek’s lingering looks the day before, the smaller male was drawn to Lawfiet’s Native features and how proudly he wore his heritage. 

When Lawfiet arrived at the door he found to be Derek’s, he hesitated. He had been promoted by Kaufman after their interaction yesterday. After the tour the General gave, he had asked Lawfiet if the Native would be interested in having a higher position on the base or if he’d prefer to be given field work. Lawfiet had jumped on the chance to stay on the base to be close to Derek, choosing to take a job in security due to his mastery of technology. So he could just…

He pulled the access card from his wallet and slid it through the keypad on the door, letting himself in. Looking around, he expected to see Derek already working and getting ready for a new day… only to find no one there. 

Lawfiet frowned and closed the door behind him. He saw the open books, the folders stacked here and there on the counters and lab tables. He ran his eyes over the various notes and charts and smiled. Despite the appearance of being chaotic, Derek seemed to be very organized. Lawfiet had to admire that so many projects and cases were open at once and yet all kept together. It took a great level of intellect to be able to multitask to that level. He smiled and strode further inside the lab, taking into account the many binders and seeing the maps and pictures along the walls, various notes dotting in between them. 

His ears caught the sound of a television and out of curiosity, he followed it, finding a room with the door ajar where flickering light could be seen illuminating the area. Lawfiet moved and slowly opened the door, surprised to see Derek laying on the bed, hair a mess as he slept. His blanket had slipped to his waist, making Lawfiet want to run his hand down Derek’s back. Derek had one of the several pillows on his bed cradled under his head almost lovingly, making the Native smile. Lawfiet was a little confused as to why Derek had his full sized bed on the floor without a frame to support it, but didn’t question it too much as it did make the whole picture all the more endearing for some reason. Without much thought, Lawfiet stepped quietly into the room, the deep navy carpet quieting his steps. 

As he moved into the room, Lawfiet noted the small television on the dresser, stacks of dvds on the floor beside a hamper that was tucked in the corner beside the dark wood dresser, hidden from sight. On the other wall, closer to where Lawfiet stood, was a large bookshelf and low coffee table. The bookshelf was stuffed with all sorts of material, with some books and magazines still needing to be stacked on the floor or left on the coffee table. 

A soft sigh broke Lawfiet from his thoughts and his dark eyes rushed back over to Derek, finding the smaller now laying on his back, his light gray tee messed up and up far enough to show just a sliver of the pale skin on his stomach. 

Lawfiet’s throat went suddenly dry as he fought with himself whether to leave or not. The blanket had been kicked just low enough to show the curve of Derek’s hips, and Lawfiet had to hold himself back from stepping closer to get a better look. He was overcome with the want to run his lips over the curve of Derek’s hips. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to impress Derek, not jump him. I need to leave. I’ll see him at the meeting. I can’t be here- 

Derek sighed in his sleep again and his blue eyes fluttered open as the smaller stretched, exposing a bit more of his stomach. One of his feet moved from below the blanket, exposed and Lawfiet noted how well kept Derek’s feet were. As well as his hands… Derek had slowly sat up and his eyes lazily took in the room before resting on Lawfiet, standing there awkwardly. Suddenly Derek’s eyes flew open, now wide awake. He jumped back in shock, smacking his head against the wall with such a loud thud that Lawfiet fliched. 

Before Lawfiet could speak up and ask if Derek was alright, the smaller broke the moment. “What are you doing in here!” He demanded, his voice weak from disuse in sleep. His eyes were full of fright and Lawfiet’s heart clenched. He was the cause of that look. 

“I’m sorry!” He said with all the honesty he could pour into his voice. “I was just leaving….I didn’t know you’d still be asleep! I would have never-” He ran a hand through his hair. He was flustered and rambling. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go! This was all wrong! 

“How did you even get in here?!” Derek demanded, anger suddenly taking over rather than fear. It was a look of betrayal and disbelief that Lawfiet wasn’t sure what to think of. On the one hand, Derek’s question made sense: it was a secured room. There would be no reason for a person to just wander in. On the other hand… was it just because he was still fogged with sleep, or was there another reason Derek was so afraid and defensive? 

“I was given the card! I’m now on security so-”

“So you broke into my room?!” Derek looked horrified now, standing on his mattress and dragging his blanket with him to cover up as much of his body as he could. Lawfiet’s attention honed in on that one fact. Why was he covering himself like a woman nude? “Did you know it was mine or were you looking for anyone’s company!?” 

“Company…?” Lawfiet nearly felt ill at the question. “I wasn’t looking to force myself on anyone! I knew it was your room-” Derek’s face paled at that, and Lawfiet hurried to continue, “-and I wanted to talk to you! I enjoyed seeing you yesterday and thought….I thought I’d...invite you to breakfast….” He finished lamely, his shoulders drooping in defeat. He looked away from Derek, ashamed of himself. He shouldn’t have assumed Derek would be awake. He shouldn’t have entered the room. He certainly shouldn’t have entered the bedroom! He sighed. “I’m sorry.”

Derek stood, quiet and trying to calm the erratic beating in his chest as he kept himself pressed against the wall. Slowly, he relaxed as he watched Lawfiet and heard his explanation. Breakfast? He frowned in confusion. “You wanted to….” He shook his head. “There’s no way I could believe that,” He muttered the last part to himself, but the Native caught it all the same. 

“Why not?” His dark brown eyes rested on Derek again, pleading for the other to understand. 

Derek’s face turned pink in shame. “No one would wake someone just for breakfast, would they?” He felt genuine confusion. No one asked for his company unless they wanted to use him, be it for a recommendation, to do their work, or give them sexual release. Those requests he was used to, but this! He worked up the courage to look towards Lawfiet, embarrassed further at the other’s expression. 

“Well...yeah, if they want to get to know the other person or they like their company… I thought we got along well yesterday and...we might as well get to know each other if we’re going to be working together. We have the meeting later and it’ll ease the tension if we get all the weirdness over with now.” Was Derek seriously so isolated from people that he didn’t understand a gesture of friendship when he saw one? What’s happened to you? Lawfiet’s blood boiled with anger at the idea of this sweet boy being used and tossed aside. He recognized abuse victims from when he worked on the force and Derek was giving off the signals of someone mistreated. I would never do anything to hurt you! It would explain why Derek assumed Lawfiet was there for such a repulsive reason. “If you don’t want to, I understand. I had no right to invade your space like this,” 

Derek fidgeted with the blanket in his grip, shifting from foot to foot. “....You really want to be around me?” He asked quietly. 

“Of course I do,”

Derek blushed deeper. “No one’s ever….” He stopped that thought. “...I will need to get dressed,”

“Right,” Lawfiet let out a sigh with a relieved smile. “I’ll give you some privacy-”   
“Please, just watch tv. I’ll need to wash my hair so I’ll be a moment…” He slowly lowered his comforter to the bed, aware of how exposed he was in his tee and shorts. He made quick work of grabbing a uniform from his dresser before rushing to the bathroom that was the door beside his bedroom. 

Hearing the other door close, Lawfiet sunk to the floor, sitting cross legged and feeling uncertain. He looked to the televison and smiled. So he likes Star Trek! The more he learned about Derek, the more he liked the other. 

Inside the bathroom, Derek was a mess. He tried to calm himself. He set his uniform on the counter and grabbed a towel from the shelf.

As he moved, he caught sight of himself in the mirror and choked back the urge to shriek in terror. His hair was loose and a mess, as he didn’t tie it back as he normally did the night before. There was evident sleep in his eyes, and if he looked close enough, he could see a faint hint of drool on his face. 

He knew logically that with the dim lighting in his bedroom, Lawfiet probably didn’t see all these little imperfections, but it didn’t keep Derek from rushing to clean up and look presentable. He scolded himself as he washed his hair and scrubbed at his body. You shouldn’t even care what he thinks! He’s not interested like that! He just wants to get to know his co-workers! 

After ten minutes, he exited the bathroom, his hair in its usual style of being in a ponytail with a few locks loose to frame his face. His uniform of brown pants with several pockets, his polished black boots, black turtleneck and red belt made him feel much less exposed. He did blush as he quietly moved to the bedroom to put his clothes in the hamper, hoping Lawfiet didn’t notice the small cover of makeup Derek put on or the perfume he sprayed on his wrists and neck. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he spoke up. 

Lawfiet smiled and rose from the floor. “I don’t mind. I should be the one apologizing for starting your morning like this,”

Derek gave a shy smile as he followed the Native out of the room, grabbing his own keycard as they left. “I normally am up at this time,” he assured. “It’s just last night I was late getting to sleep because of some work I wanted to get done,” 

“But you did manage to get to bed at a decent time, right?”

“I got about four hours,” That was the average he got on a regular basis, so it didn’t faze him much. 

Lawfiet scowled. “You need to take better care of yourself! Don’t keep staying up late like that. Once in awhile is understandable, but you’re going to cause health problems if you do that!”  
The more petite of the two was silent for a moment before looking to the ground, feeling a warmth bloom in his chest at the sound of Lawfiet’s worried tone. “You don’t need to concern yourself. I’m quite used to it-”

“Eight hours.” Lawfiet finalized. He nodded to himself, as if it was set in stone now. 

Derek had the passing thought that he should have probably been insulted at someone making such a choice for him. But in all honestly, he was too flattered to be upset. “I’ll try,” he compromised, smiling up at the other. 

Lawfiet gave a smile of his own, his breath being sucked away for that moment. Those blue eyes were now sparkling and that sweet and timid smile was everything Lawfiet didn’t know he needed. In that moment, it was fear and exhilaration all at once. It was in that instance that Lawfiet realized what he was feeling. In the back of his mind, he remembered how his parents tried to persuade him to choose either a Native or African girl to marry. 

He grinned to himself. I hope they don’t mind a French boy in the family instead. We could always adopt.


End file.
